Alanna's Squire
by Seashadow
Summary: This is the story of Neal’s experience as a squire, with Alanna as his knightmaster. It obviously takes place during the same time period as Tamora Pierce’s Squire. Eventually Neal&Yuki.
1. An Unexpected Proposal

Disclaimer: All of the recognizable characters and places in this story belong to Tamora Pierce.

A/N: This is the story of Neal's experience as a squire, with Alanna as his knight-master, which takes place during the same time period as Tamora Pierce's Squire. Most, but not all, of the characters and places mentioned in this story will be actual places in Tamora Pierce's books, however I have taken the liberty of adding my own characters and places here and there to make the story workable. This is my first attempt at a fanfic that is not a oneshot, and so I hope I can get this to work. All reviews are appreciated.

Just a quick note on this chapter—I've never been that great at starting stories, especially long ones. This chapter didn't come out quite the way I had planned, yet I think it will make a good start.

**Chapter One: An Unexpected Proposal**

Corus, the capital of Tortall; Summer, in the 17th year of the reign of Jonathan IV and Thayet, his Queen, 456 H.E. (Human Era)

Neal opened his eyes wide and looked with horror between Lady Alanna of Pirate's Swoop and Olau, King Jonathan IV of Conté, and his father, Duke Baird of Queenscove. "So, what's your decision?" Lady Alanna asked him sweetly. Neal had been shocked by how docile Alanna had acted this whole time and, had he known that the reason she was acting so sickeningly sweet was because she was asking him to be her squire, he would have walked away immediately. Somehow, despite the scene Neal had been throwing for over two sets of afternoon bells, she had managed to restrain her temper, and act only gentle, kind and innocent. Neal supposed King Jonathan had told her to act this way.

Looking at Lady Alanna, Neal answered through gritted teeth, "No. Absolutely not." He was furious that Alanna would even ask him to be her squire, and was even angrier that his father and the king agreed with Alanna. If they even paused to think about it, Neal was positive that he could convince them to do otherwise.

"It's a good offer, Neal," Duke Baird said soothingly.

"No, I refuse. Anybody but _her_," Neal spit out in the direction of his father. "It shouldn't be me. Kel's the one Alanna wants. She's better than me at all manners of fighting, and she doesn't panic when she's in battle. She works hard, she's trustworthy, she—"

Neal was cut off by a low and musical voice. "Do you realize how it would look if Alanna took Keladry?" the king asked. "All of the conservatives would think that Kel only became a knight because Alanna witched her. Alanna likes traveling alone, and they would think that time was all spent laying good luck spells on Kel. Besides, there would be questions of special treatment since Alanna's never taken a squire before. Why do you think I took so many precautions to make sure that Alanna wasn't in contact with Kel while she was a page?" The king winced, undoubtedly remembering Alanna's reaction when she heard that she was not permitted to help Kel.

"Neal, not only is Alanna a knight, but she's a healer. She can teach you some of what you would have learned, had you stayed at the university," Duke Baird pointed out. This hit a chord with Neal; he longed to be instructed at more length on how to heal. There were times when he seriously regretted leaving the university so that he could train to be a knight.

"Father," Neal began, before seeing the look in his father's eyes. While it was ultimately his decision to except or decline Lady Alanna's offer, he knew that if his father could decide for him, he would become Alanna's squire. Neal knew that, since his father was not to be swayed, he'd have to appeal to Alanna and the king.

"Your majesty," Neal said, trying to sound civil, "I can't take this. I'm not the one who dreamed of being the Lioness's squire since before I was a page. Kel want's this so badly, and any knight is fine for me. Besides, I have other offers. Kel has none. _Please_."

Alanna sighed heavily and turned to face Neal, who towered over her in height. "Jon's right, Nealan," she said, and smiled slightly when Neal made a face at being called 'Nealan.' "It wouldn't work. Even if I was allowed to be Keladry's knight-master, nobody would believe that she became a knight on her own. It's not fair to her, really. She needs to be the squire to a person who isn't hated by all conservatives, someone who is in the public eye often, and someone who is respected."

"And where are you going to find this person, if it's not you?" Neal demanded.

"Kel is taken care of," Alanna said cheerfully. "And it's a good offer too."

Neal looked around the room to see all of the adults nodding, a small smile on their lips. He didn't know what to say—he hated to take Alanna up on her offer, yet knew that in the end he would be Alanna's squire, though he might wish it otherwise. At least he could tell Kel truthfully that he had argued against it, that if he could convince Alanna to be Kel's knight-master instead he would have, and that Alanna was his best offer so far.

"Nealan, your decision please?" Alanna reminded him.

"I'll do it," Neal said warily.

"Say thank you," his father prompted Neal, who chose to pretend he could not hear him.

"Now that this is settled, I'd like to speak to you before supper," Alanna told Neal who, recognizing this as a cue to exit, did so promptly. Neal headed for Kel's room, only slightly aware that his face was white and that his green eyes blazed.

* * *

Neal left Kel's room in a slightly cheerier mood than he had entered. Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak, the commander of the King's Own, had chosen Kel to be his squire. Even though Neal was still shaken from the events of the day, he knew this was good. Lord Raoul was known to be easygoing and relaxed and slow to anger—unlike Alanna. Neal wondered how they had ever been friends as pages when they had so different personalities. 

Neal walked slowly to his rooms, took out a book and tried to read but to no avail. Despite the part of him that still believed that Kel should be Alanna's squire, another part of him smiled at being chosen. He knew that he was lucky to have a knight-master who could teach him about healing, even if she was easy to anger.

Looking out the window and realizing that it would be almost supper time, Neal got out of his chair and put his meticulously put his book away in its proper place. This done, he left his room to find his knight-master. He wandered over to the noble's part of the palace, and stopped only when he had reached Alanna's rooms. It wasn't hard for him to find it—he had been there before with his father. He knocked on the door several times before the door opened. "Come in, squire," his knight-master told him. Neal did as told.

Once in, Neal looked around the room. It had changed since he had been here last, over four years ago. There was still the big, sturdy desk, several comfortable seats and a bookshelf, but now there was also a painting on the wall and, Neal noted in amusement, what appeared to be a mirror with flowers painted on the back. On the desk was a book on Yamani culture, and if Neal had looked at the bookshelf he would have realized that roughly half of the books were on the Yamani Islands.

Alanna didn't use any formalities, but went straight to the point, her tone, while not sickeningly sweet as it had been before, still revealed that she was being careful about not angering him. Neal thought it was funny that she would go to all of this trouble, just for him. "As your knight-master, it is my duty to make sure you have proper weapons, amour and horse. What do you currently have?"

"I have a Raven dagger given to me by my father years back, and the rest is just the standard edition stuff you get as a page. I do have a brown mare, Chocco, and she's a fine horse," Neal replied.

"You'll need a shield, of course, but I already had one made in your size. Your father was a great help there—thank him for me, will you, Nealan?" Neal made a face at the use of his full name. He could tolerate it when the king called him by it, but he would not be called that on a regular basis.

"Your ladyship is so kind as to make me a shield before you even knew I would accept," Neal said dryly. Alanna blushed, remembering how Jon had automatically assumed that she was to marry him, and the fight that had proceeded.

"Nealan—" Alanna began severely, but was cut off.

"Neal," he said shortly. "Not Nealan. My least favorite aunt calls me that."

"Squire," Alanna compromised. "Anyway, I'll assume that your sword is fine for now—I'll get you a better one once I know your style—and the rest will be dealt with once I can examine it. And I'm glad you have a horse. That makes things much simpler, though if this Chocco gets to old for the sort of exercise she will get with me, I can supply you with a new mount."

Neal opened his mouth to say something, but Alanna waved her hand towards the door and told him to enjoy the free time he had before he was officially her squire. Put that way, Neal felt as if the hours he had until he would be left to the mercy of the Lioness were much fewer than they really were, and hurried to dinner, determined to put every last moment of freedom to a good use.

Dinner was uneventful, and Neal spent it with his friends Kel, Merric, Seaver, and Esmond. Though he was much older than his friends, Neal had grown to have a respect for them, especially Kel, as he would have had for any adult. However, Neal knew that if Kel was aware of this she would wave it off and remind him that his respect towards his elders wasn't that great, especially when it came to Lord Wyldon. Meric, Seaver and Esmond went to bed first, leaving Neal with Kel to discuss their future. From the expression in Kel's eyes and the tone of her voice, Neal was able to establish that Kel was happy and didn't blame him for having Alanna as his knight-mistress. Eventually Kel left, leaving Neal alone to his thoughts.

Morning arrived, and Neal was forced to get out of his bed, once again acknowledging that he was not a morning person. He washed, dressed, and went to breakfast; there he found a puzzled Esmond and Merric wondering why Kel wasn't eating breakfast with them as she normally did, and if there was something wrong. Surprised too, Neal did not know what to make of the news. He talked with Esmond and Merric as he ate what little he could—he wasn't a breakfast person—before excusing himself to find Kel. By the time Neal knocked on Kel's door he was half convinced that she had somehow managed to kill herself. "Kel, it's me," he called.

The door opened, and Neal opened his mouth to interrogate Kel, but the person at the door was not Kel. "She left before sunrise with Lord Raoul and the King's Own," Lalasa, Kel's servant, answered sheepishly. "She told me to tell all of you lads goodbye for her, since she couldn't do it herself."

"Oh," Neal said, feeling slightly hurt. He smiled to Lalasa, thanked her for this information, and started the walk back to his room thinking. He knew that there was no way for Kel to say goodbye, but he selfishly wished that she had left him a note or something, explaining where she was going. She was his best friend, after all, and he had hoped that they could talk more before one of them was called away. Though not particularly sentimental, and terribly glad to be done with his training as a page under the Stump, Neal wished that some things could remain the same.

Suddenly Neal smiled. He had have forgotten that his cousin, Domitain, called Dom by his friends and family, would be traveling with Kel. Neal knew that for once his correspondence with the man who called him 'Sir Meathead', sometimes even in his letters, would prove more than just entertaining.


	2. A Better Understanding

Disclaimer: All of the recognizable characters and places in this story belong to Tamora Pierce.

A/N: I am so sorry that this chapter took me so long to write. I started writing it, and then went away, and then had to finish it over a month later when I came back. I'm sorry if the writing style changes slightly somewhere in the middle of this chapter, however I liked the beginning very much and could not bear to erase it and rewrite the whole thing to make it flow better. Anyway, please review. Reviews are what make writing fanfiction worthwhile.

**Chapter Two: A Better Understanding**

Neal lounged on his bed, enjoying the free time that Lady Alanna had granted him. Actually, most of his time since being taken as Alanna's squire had been free time. Neal knew his knight-master wasn't ignoring him, that she merely enjoyed the company of her friends without him around, but knew she had been very careful as to meet her friends away from where he was. He knew why, though—she had mentioned hearing somewhere that he was known for eavesdropping. He was glad, however, that Alanna's fake sweetness had worn off, and she now acted around him in the same manner as she acted around others.

There was a loud knock on the door and, before Neal had even bothered to put down his book, the door swung open. Alanna stood there, her eyes fiery. "There you are," she said angrily. "I've been looking for you everywhere. We're leaving right now."

Neal stood abruptly, knocking his book onto the floor. "I'm glad you gave me such great advance warning," he said wryly. "When you say leaving now, am I to assume now means this very second, or at some later point within the next couple days, my lady?" Neal couldn't help but grin when Alanna made a face at being called 'my lady'; the face was almost identical to the one he made when she called him Nealan.

"No, don't call me 'my lady'," she snapped. "Call me…" Alanna trailed off, thinking.

"My Lord hardly works, and I assume you don't want me to call you Sir," Neal drawled. "Should I call you 'Lioness?"

"No, not that," she said absently, thinking. Suddenly Neal smiled.

"I don't assume 'my mistress' would give the correct impression, would it?" he inquired, and received a glare from Alanna, who was busy pacing the room and frowning.

"You call me 'my mistress' and I'll teach you a lesson about impertinence you're not likely to forget," she growled. The room was silent for a few moments before Alanna exclaimed, "Goddess! Just call me Alanna when nobody is around. I'm used to being controversial, and until I can find something proper for you to call me—and mark my word, squire, I will—I can't go around being called something ridiculous." Alanna snorted, and then continued. "'My lady' makes me sound like a delicate flower blossom, 'my lord' and 'sir' are male titles, and 'my mistress' is just ridiculous."

"I'm sure the conservatives don't think it that ridiculous," Neal said dryly.

"Don't talk that way!" Alanna snapped. She pulled at a stray lock of red hair, and sighed. Alanna looked Neal in the eyes, and Neal noticed that they were no longer fiery, but sad. Though she'd never admit it, Neal had a suspicion that the court gossip bothered his knight-master more than she let on. Neal looked down, ashamed even though he had played no part in that sort of gossip. It wasn't natural for the lioness to look dispirited, and it bothered him to see her when she momentarily let down her guard.

"Why are we leaving, anyway?" Neal inquired.

"If I have to remain in the same city with His Majesty any longer, I might just kill him, which, he could not fail to remind me, would be very improper, not to mention juvenile, since I _am_ his champion." Alanna wrinkled her face in disgust, and Neal smiled in spite of himself. Alanna and the king had gotten into a number of arguments since he had been at court, and many ended with his knight-master, furious, storming away. Most arguments lasted for only a short time, but when Kel became a page Alanna had refused to talk to Jon for more than a year. Neal had a suspicion that this argument was once again about his friend Kel.

Neal picked his book off the floor, smoothed a page that had gotten wrinkled, and put the book on his desk. He walked to his dresser and took out a pile of clothes. "Alanna," Neal said hesitantly, "how long will we be gone for, and where are we going?" Had his knight-master not been famed for her temper, Neal would have said something more. However, given his knight-master's mood, he didn't dare to say anything more.

"We're going to Pirate's Swoop until I'm needed elsewhere," Alanna declared, and her face softened at the mention of her home. "And we'll be gone for an indeterminable length of time; normally I'd say travel light, but since you can always leave your clothes at Pirate's Swoop, just take what you think seems reasonable. And make haste—I don't want to stay here any longer than necessary."

With that as a warning, Alanna turned and walked toward the door. She opened it, walked out, and closed it behind her. Neal packed as quickly as he could, and then got his horse ready, convinced that the lioness would be ready before him. She wasn't, and he then had to wait for her to settle various affairs before they could leave. Though Alanna had told him to leave mid-morning, they didn't leave until well past noon.

The trip was uneventful. Alanna started with the intention of quizzing Neal on information she thought it necessary for him to know; once she discovered he knew at least as much as she did, if not more in some areas, they spent the remainder of the trip in silence. Embarrassed, she had to remind herself that Neal was a scholar at heart, before vowing to read more on the subject immediately. She couldn't have her squire getting cocky.

They made a quiet entrance, and the lioness showed Neal where to put his stuff before she went and found her husband and children, Neal in tow. Neal introduced himself to the Baron of Pirate's Swoop, Alanna's husband George, before retreating to his room. He knew that his knight-master wanted to be alone with her husband.

* * *

Neal slept late the next morning, and when he woke up the sun was already high in the sky. Once he was dressed, he decided to look around his knight-master's home. He had taken no more than a few steps out his room when a servant came up to him. "Squire Nealan," the servant addressed him, "Lady Alanna is waiting for you in the dining hall." 

Neal, wondering why he was wanted, followed the servant to the dining hall and entered, leaving the servant standing right outside of the door. In the dining hall was Lady Alanna, the Baron, and her three children. The oldest, a boy of about twelve, introduced himself to Neal. "Hi. My name's Thom. Nice to meet you!" the boy said, causing his parents to laugh. Thom was a true redhead, like his mother, and his eyes were a dark brown, like his father's. He held himself with dignity, and his face showed kindness and stubbornness.

The two younger children, twins, were introduced to Neal by the Baron. Age ten, the twins looked very similar, though the boy's hair was slightly redder, and the girl's eyes slightly more green. The boy was introduced as Alan, presumably named after Alanna, since she called herself Alan as a page and squire; the girl was introduced as Aly.

Throughout the afternoon meal Alanna and her husband talked quietly while their children, at first hesitantly, questioned Neal about a large manner of things. Once the children realized that Neal was not going to harm them, they bombarded him with questions, and demanded stories be retold of events in the capitol. Try as he might, Neal could not hear a word of what the lioness was telling her husband while maintaining a conversation with three enthusiastic children, so he stopped trying to eavesdrop and focused his whole attention on the children.

To Neal's amazement, he learned that each of Alanna's children had very different interests. Thom, though pleased by talk of court gossip, became most excited when he learned that Neal knew a great deal of knowledge acquired from books. Alan wanted to hear about what Neal's experiences as a page. "After all," he had proudly announced, "I'm going to become a knight someday, too." Aly was a curious case, and Neal couldn't quite figure out what exactly it was that Aly was interested in.

When the afternoon meal was finished, Alanna pulled Neal aside. Her eyes sparkled, she stood up straighter, and her face was smiling—she looked happier than she had all summer. "Today your first formal day as my squire begins," she announced. Neal groaned loudly, and she laughed. "Get your sword and meet me in the practice courts. I have to figure out just how good you are with a sword."

Neal's insides turned, and for a second he thought he might get sick. He had known that sooner or later he would have to start training with his knight-master; he had just hoped it would be later instead of sooner. He knew the second she saw him with a sword she would announce it was all a big mistake, that he was a disgrace to his family, and that he could return to the capitol to serve a desk knight. It wasn't that he was bad with a sword—actually, he was quite good with a sword—but he wasn't nearly as good as Kel, let alone the lioness. "Yes, my lady," Neal gulped.

Apparently he looked as scared as he felt, because Alanna put her hand on his shoulder. Neal was amazed by how small her hand was. "You can't be _that_ bad," she said, as if that was reassuring.

Neal raised his eyebrows, kept his mouth shut, and went and got his sword. He arrived at the practice courts at the same time as his knight-master did, and started to stretch. To his horror, Alanna was displeased with his stretches, and showed him a few new ones that would make him more flexible. By the time they got ready to start Neal's legs ached. They weren't using practice weapons, and Neal could only think how much it would hurt if the lioness accidentally cut off his head.

As soon as he had gotten in place, the Lioness attacked. He was forced to block her blows repeatedly, and was not surprised to learn how strong she was. Every time he blocked her sword his whole arm grated, and he was in a great deal of pain. Neal waited, looking in vain for Alanna to make a mistake; she didn't. After little more than a minute, Alanna had him on the ground and his sword feet away from him.

Alanna held out her hand to Neal, and pulled him to his feet. In pain, Neal stumbled over to his sword and picked it up. _If Father wasn't her friend, she'd have killed me_, Neal thought hysterically. _I didn't even have a fair chance—she's a genius with a sword, and I'm only average._

Neal turned to face his knight-master. "You happy?" he demanded.

For a second Alanna looked as if she were going to hit him, but she calmed down slightly, reminding herself that he was only sore because he was embarrassed. "Boy, you and I have a lot of work to do," she told him, her voice quiet. She toyed with the bridge of her nose, before continuing, "Though, you're not the worst I could have gotten."

"Kel's a thousand times better than I am," Neal informed her. "You should have chosen her." Neal sighed. He knew the argument was hopeless, he just would have felt less anxious if he and Kel had had time to talk before she left. He just wasn't sure that she wasn't mad at him, though he knew that Lord Raoul would be an excellent knight-master. He'd be happier when he got a return letter from his cousin, Dom.

"I know," Alanna said unhappily, "But you're the one I want, okay? You're my squire, not Kel, and I'm going to teach you to be the best you possibly can."

"Would you have chosen her if you could have?" Neal asked softly. "Or am I just the backup choice?"

"Goddess you're nosy!" snapped Alanna. Yet, despite her tone of voice, Alanna looked sad, not angry. She sighed deeply, pulled at a red curl, and replied, so quietly he almost couldn't hear her, "I don't know."

Neal looked up into Alanna's eyes, and he could see the confusion in them. "I just don't know," she continued, sadly. "From the second I heard there was going to be a girl page, I knew that I would be able to help her, that I would help teach her how to become a lady knight. I knew she would be my squire. But, it didn't work out that way—it never works out that way for me, I always have to do things the hard way. When Jon first told me I couldn't be in contact with Keladry, I almost went crazy, but I've had years to reconcile myself. I've been told," Alanna said, almost bitterly, "that Kel must make her own path in the world, that it is her fate.

"Furthermore, I know that I can help you in ways I could not help Kel. I can teach you how to heal, and I know that you wish you had learned more about healing. And, Goddess knows, you need to be better with your sword. I can help you with that too. Certainly I'm not disappointed to have you as my squire, I just can't say that there aren't times when I don't wish things had worked out differently. I'm sure you understand me perfectly in that respect," she finished. And she was correct—Neal was thrilled to have Alanna as his master, yet he sometimes wished that Kel had the honor instead of him.

Neal stood perfectly still, amazed and horrified at the same time. He didn't know what to say, and when he had asked the lioness that question, he hadn't expected her to respond aside from telling him to shut up. "Thank you," he said finally, much louder than he had intended. He smiled slightly at Alanna, who did the same. There was a moment of awkward silence and, to break it, Neal asked, "Am I done for today?"

Relieved to talk about something else, and embarrassed that she had told Neal the truth, Alanna was more than happy to tell Neal that he could not leave until she had showed him how to improve, and what he had done wrong when fighting her. Even when she criticized him, Neal didn't complain. Although he had always respected Alanna greatly, he respected her more than ever now for telling him the truth. His old reservations about being her squire vanished, and for the first time Neal was happy to just work.


	3. Dearest Meathead

Disclaimer: All of the recognizable characters and places in this story belong to Tamora Pierce.

A/N: Well, I got chapter three here pretty quickly, all things being equal, even though the chapter is rather short. I've had loads of work recently, and finding time to update doesn't seem to be happening as often as I would like it to. Either way, I got this chapter out much quicker than the last one, though it helps that I finally have some idea as to where this is going. I definitely know how my story will end, and I even have an idea about the middle. Not the little details, mind you, just the big picture. Well, except for Neal's ordeal. I'm positive I know what's happening in that.

Not to be a nag, but I'd love more reviews, and I want to thank those who have reviewed. If you've ever written a story, you know how great it is to get a review, even if the review isn't entirely complimentary. All reviews help the writing of the author, and an author cannot improve without learning first what the reader likes to read about. Okay, long story short, please review.

**Chapter Three: Dearest Meathead**

The rain fell steadily over Pirate's Swoop, and the hot, moist air made Neal feel sticky and damp though he had not been outside. He flipped the pages of a document on the Bazhir that Alanna had instructed him to read. It had been a little over a month and a half since he had first become the Lioness's squire, and he had learned a lot about his knight-master since then, such as that Alanna disliked being wet, and therefore went out of her way to stay dry. He looked forward to a day of quiet reading, perhaps followed by instruction from his knight-master.

A sharp rap on the door startled Neal out of his book, and he looked up to see his knight-master enter the room. She walked toward Neal, glanced at the document he was reading and smiled, pleased that he was so diplomatic in his studies. "Interesting, isn't it?" she commented.

"It is," Neal answered, "However, I have to wonder if—"

Alanna cut him off. "Not now. We're going into the village now."

Neal looked at her, confused. He had been into the village several times, but he couldn't see what was so urgent that Alanna would need to go out now. "It's pouring," he said wryly. "Have you developed a newfound love of the rain?"

"No," Alanna said irritably. "There's been an accident in town involving a young boy, and we are going to go fix him up. I've been negligent—we've spent much time practicing with a sword, but I haven't even begun instructing you on healing. Besides, the local healer is busy with another case, and I figured you could do with the practice."

Neal put his book down heavily, groaned loudly, and got out of his chair. His arms and legs ached from his practices with Alanna, and he knew that the quicker he left, the quicker he could get back to his book. Neal hurried to put on his rain clothes, and all too soon he and Alanna were out in the rain. The ride was quick, but by the time they arrived at the boy's home they were both thoroughly drenched. Alanna was in a foul mood, and Neal wasn't exactly cheerful. "Let's get this over with," he told Alanna, and refused to listen when she told him, not too politely, to be quiet.

An anxious, and stunned, mother led Neal and Alanna into the house. The house of the injured boy was a small house, carefully decorated on the inside to look inviting. On the couch in the living room lay a boy the age of a beginning page. His hands were scraped and covered in dried blood, he was covered in scrapes, and his nose and arm were broken visibly broken. The arm lay in a makeshift sling, and Alanna let out an impressive string of curses when she saw it. "If there's one thing I dislike, it's a job done sloppily," she told Neal. "Well, you know what to do. Start."

"I don't know how," Neal told his knight-master, embarrassed. He knew how to heal quite well for somebody his age, but they hadn't gotten to healing broken bones before he had left the university to become a knight. "I know how to make him not feel the pain, but I hadn't gotten to the actual healing when I left the university…"

"Goddess!" Alanna exclaimed, and then let out a long string of curse words, more irritated than mad. She stopped when the little boy looked up at her in awe, and said, "Ma told me not to say those words, but if you can, I can too!" This caused Alanna to laugh, and she walked Neal through healing the boy. Neal was a fast learner—she had expected that from him, especially since his father was such a great healer. Neal, to Alanna's amazement, did not make sarcastic comments throughout the whole process of healing the boy, and instead was completely serious and focused on the task at hand.

When he was finished, Neal looked at the boy. "Do you feel better?" he asked. The boy nodded, and thanked Neal. "Your arm will take a bit to heal completely, so be careful with it. What were you doing to get yourself into such a mess?"

The boy, whose name was Jim, grinned. "Climbing a tree—a _tall_ tree. I was way up, in the little branches, when it got windy. It was really fun, swaying around and all, until I fell. But when I'm well I'm going to climb it and not fall."

Alanna and Neal spent the next half hour convincing the young boy not to climb that particular tree again, and when they left they were only half convinced that the message had gone across. It was still raining hard outside, and whatever good mood Neal had obtained from successfully healing the boy evaporated. By the time he got home, Neal looked and felt as if he had taken a shower outside with all of his clothes on; his knight-master was livid, cursing the gods for bad weather in as many ways and languages as she knew.

Neal quickly excused himself and changed his clothes. By the time he was warm and dry his mood had become much more positive, and he decided to return to his book. Neal turned the corner before the library, and there was Alan waiting for him. "Pa told me to give you this," Alan told Neal proudly. "He said it was delivered by a messenger while you and Ma were out."

"Thank you," Neal said, took the letter from Alan's outstretched hand, and turned to leave. He glanced behind, and saw the crushed expression on the boy's face. His brown eyes looked down at the floor, and his head hung low, as if he had just been reprimanded. Neal sighed, turned around, and leaned against the wall. "So…" there was an uncomfortable pause, "What have you done today? I'll bet the rain kept you indoors."

Alan's head perked up, and he smiled. "I've been inside all today with nothing to do. Maude is keeping Aly in bed because she has a cold, and Thom's not being any fun. I was wondering, do you want to play with me?" Alan's eyes looked so hopeful, Neal felt as though it would be mean to politely leave with some phony excuse about work his knight-master gave him. Besides, he had read more of the document than was required.

"Sure," Neal said, resigned.

Alan let out a small whoop of joy, and pulled on Neal's hand. Alan had become quite familiar with his mother's squire by now, and treated Neal as if Neal was his uncle, or older cousin. "Do you want to give me a piggyback ride? Oh, please?" Alan begged.

"I'm a man, a grown man, I'll have you know," Neal drawled, "Not a horse."

"I know that," Alan said.

The rest of the afternoon Neal spent playing with Alan. Though he would have been ashamed if any of his friends from the university saw him, he had been surrounded by those younger than him for so many years that he treated Alan as an equal, to Alan's delight. Furthermore, he was not surprised to learn that Alan had learned a great deal about being a knight and serving the realm; Alan fully expected to someday become a knight and serve the realm as his mother did. It was only after dinner that Neal had time to sit down in his room and look at the letter he had received.

_Dearest Meathead,_ it read,

_Your friend, Kel, is getting along quite nicely. She works hard, Lord Raoul is pleased with her, and she's made no enemies that could prove to be fatal on her part. There was a slight tangle with centaur, something involving an infant griffin…but I'll not bore you with such trivial information. It's pleasing to think of the look of vexation that must be on your face right about now, but since I don't want you to hate me forever, I'll tell you to ask your lovely knight-master what I'm talking of. If she doesn't already know, she can find out easily enough._

_Speaking of your charming knight-master, how are you getting along? I pray you've held your tongue while around her, though given your history I fear that may be impossible. She'll probably refrain from killing you, though, since your father is a good friend of hers._

_I'll contact you again if something important happens, but unless anything does occur, don't expect to hear from me for a while. The Own's been busy lately, and it's hard finding places where letters can get reliably delivered._

_Take care,_

_Dom _

"What?" Neal cried, infuriated. "If he wasn't family, I'd actually kill him!" While Neal was angry at his cousin, he was filled with worry for his friend. What did Dom mean by no enemies that could prove fatal? And what had happened to Kel? Clearly she had been hurt—how could Dom even dare joke about matters like that! The only thing that kept him from getting on his horse and riding until he could find his cousin and beet the truth out of him was the fact that clearly Kel was clearly okay at the moment. Dom might be obnoxious, but he wasn't mean spirited, and if Kel had been in any real danger, Neal was sure his cousin would have told him. However, that knowledge did little to calm him, and he flew down the hall into the Lioness's study, not bothering to knock.

"You knew and you didn't tell me!" Neal demanded of his knight-master, who looked at Neal blankly. "How dare you keep information like this from me? You think I don't have a right to know if my friend has been hurt? You know, it wasn't enough to hurt her by picking me over her, but then to act as if she didn't exist—that's worse!" Neal paused for breath. His green eyes blazed, and he was shaking with rage. He opened his mouth to continue, but was cut off by his knight-master.

"What _are_ you talking about, Squire?" Alanna questioned Neal, confused. She thought for a split second that perhaps her squire had gone mad, but immediately dismissed the thought. Insanity ran in her family, not his.

"And now you play innocent? That's just repulsive. I can't believe that I looked up to you, that I believed that you could be human; why did my father ever trust you? I mean, if your best friend got hurt, wouldn't you want to know?"

Alanna knew she was missing something—Neal said somebody was hurt, but did she even know the person Neal was talking about? Clearly Neal had some reason to believe she knew, but the only other squire she knew aside from Neal was…

"What happened to Kel?" Alanna's purple eyes shone with worry, and her heart skipped a few beats. Suddenly she was as anxious as Neal—more so, she thought, because at least Neal had some vague idea of what was going on.

Neal cocked his head, puzzled, and stopped yelling. "You don't know?" When Alanna shook her head, she did not know, Neal sighed. "I'm sorry. I assumed…but Dom said it was only a possibility, and I guess since you're not talking to His Majesty at the moment…" Neal trailed off.

"What happened?" Alanna said again.

"Read this," Neal shoved Dom's, now crumpled letter, into Alanna's hand. Alanna smoothed the paper, and then read it. When she was done, some of the worry had left her eyes.

"Obviously she's not dead or in that much trouble," Alanna said, and Neal nodded in agreement, "or else your cousin wouldn't act like that. Either way, if Raoul hadn't assured me several times over that your cousin Dom was a talented commander, I might just go find him now and beat some sense into him. Goddess knows, he's even more infuriating than you, and he's twice as big a flirt. If you acted the way he did, the conservatives would have had you in bed with me within hours of learning you were my squire."

"They did anyway," Neal pointed out. He was rewarded with a glare from his knight-master, who wisely chose to not comment. Besides, the statement was true, and there was no point to deny it.

"But that's beside the point," Alanna continued. "I'm going to contact Jon; I'm sure he'll know what happened. I owe him an apology anyway," Alanna admitted, with a pained expression on her face. "What he said was insensitive, but I did possibly overreact a little bit." Alanna put down Dom's letter on her desk, and walked to the fire.


	4. An Infant Griffin

Disclaimer: All of the recognizable characters and places in this story belong to Tamora Pierce.

A/N: I'm really not too sure on the details of how Alanna contacts people using her gift, but even if I got it wrong, I figure there must be more than one way. I based what I used on the way Onau contacted Alanna when she found Numair, in bird form, hurt and dying. Either way, this is my own story so if this is how I want to have Alanna and Jon to be able to communicate while far away, then I have the right to do this.

I want to apologize for the length of this chapter…It's so short! I meant to make it longer but really I had nothing more to add, and besides I'm getting a little sick of Pirate's Swoop. I mean, after all Neal has the next four years to get to know the place, and Alanna never was one to stay in one place for long. So for now, please don't hate me for the length of this chapter. I really will do better next time.

There is one other matter I want to discuss here. So far I have only used characters that are in Tamora Pierce's books. In future chapters this is going to change, and I am going to introduce some of my own characters; however, I am still going to stick basically to the outline of these years that Tamora Pierce provides. Perhaps in other stories I'll prove more creative. Anyways, please, please review!

**Chapter Four: An Infant Griffin**

The fire slowly turned purple, and Alanna called into it, "Jon?" Alanna waited for a minute, before exclaiming angrily, "Mithros, Jon, stop behaving so damn immature!" Neal could tell that her anger with the king had not totally evaporated, yet she was willing to reconcile with Jon if he could give her the information she wanted. Neal suspected that Alanna also wanted her friend back, from the hopeful look in her eyes that she was trying so hard to conceal.

There was silence on the other end, but finally the fire started turning blue. In the fire you could see the king, sitting in a large chair by a fire, looking exhausted. When he saw Alanna, he smiled slightly. "You didn't call me away from some work just to yell at me, did you?" he asked warily. "Because if you did, I don't care how boring the work is, I'll do it and not complain. I've been yelled at enough for one day, thank you." The king sighed heavily, opened his mouth to say something more, and then closed it.

Alanna scowled at Jon. "If you behave like that, I might just," she threatened, but then her voice softened. "Jonathan, please…look, perhaps I did overreact a little bit, though I can't say you behaved particularly maturely either."

Jonathan looked at Alanna in surprise. "A change of heart?" he questioned. "Have you decided to always forgive me so easily from now on? I doubt it," he added ruefully. "Either way, I'm glad you're talking to me again. But, Alanna, don't expect me to believe you contacted me just to apologize. I've known you for too long to believe that."

"Jon, stop it. Just because I'm forgiving you does not mean that you can tease me," Alanna warned, and in a quieter voice continued. "What happened to Squire Keladry? I'd contact Raoul directly, but he doesn't have the Gift. Neal here," she pointed to Neal, and Jon nodded—he'd already seen Neal, "Got a letter from a certain cousin Domitain. The letter said Kel got hurt, and since the letter implied I'd know, I figure it must be pretty big news. I'm not normally one for court gossip, as you know."

"Domitain?" Jon questioned.

"The one Raoul thinks is such a talented commander. You know the one—he's a terrible flirt, and perhaps worse than Neal here at keeping his mouth shut."

Jon smiled. "I do know him." Neal scowled, slightly offended.

"What happened, Jon?" Alanna demanded. Her purple eyes sparkled, and both Neal and Jon could tell she was trying to keep calm. Neal could never quite figure out how Alanna and Jon could be such close friends when they spent half of the time furious at each other; perhaps it had something to do with their relationship when Alanna was a squire, Neal mused.

"I've heard from Raoul," Jon said slowly, "that she got in a battle with a centaur. The centaur had an infant child, and Squire Kel would not let it get away with that. Only after she had killed the centaur—and gotten hurt in the process—did she realize that the centaur was not only carrying an infant, but also an infant griffin." Neal gasped, and Alanna swore. "She's fine now, and Daine is looking for its parents. I've heard the griffin is a real little beast," Jon finished.

Both ends of the fire were quite for a minute. Neal was horrified. Kel always had a knack for getting into trouble, but a baby griffin? What if Daine couldn't find the parents before they found Kel? Neal stood stupefied, making little gasping noises, and swaying back and forth until Alanna grabbed him and pulled him into a chair. Kel was his best friend, and if something happened to her, Neal couldn't imagine what he would do. He glanced over at Alanna, and saw her staring at Jon, her expression one of absolute horror and anger.

"If you had let her be my squire, this wouldn't have happened!" Alanna exclaimed, suddenly livid. "I told you time and time again that I could help her, I could teach her what it meant to be a lady knight, and I could keep her out of trouble! Now look what happened?"

Jon's voice stayed calm as he answered Alanna. "Calm, Alanna," he told her. "You know just as well as I do the reasons why you can't be her knight-master. I know you wanted to, Alanna. Dreams die hard—I know that better than most. However, this is better. Don't you see it?"

Alanna frowned, and looked at the ground, her purple eyes shining bright with restrained tears and dreams. In an instant the look in her eyes was gone, but Neal still felt as if he was intruding. He got out of his chair and walked to the door. Before he exited he glanced back at the fire, where he could still see Jon. "Goodnight, Squire Neal," Jon's low, musical voice called after him. Neal hurriedly wished Jon a good night using all of the proper formalities, and left to go to his own room, cursing whatever had possessed Kel to tangle with a centaur.

Right as he uttered a particularly vile curse, Neal saw George out of the corner of his eye. "Do you know where Alanna is?" George questioned, worry in his eyes. "I have something to discuss with her."

"She's in the study I was using earlier," Neal answered. "Alanna's talking to the king."

"She hasn't come up with another name for you to call her yet?" George asked, his eyes twinkling. "What was that you were saying about Jon? They made up?" George questioned, curious. "Surely it wasn't Alanna who apologized, though. She never was one to make apologies."

"It was," Neal said with a grin.

George looked only slightly taken back. "She does new things to surprise you every day," he said, impressed. "Either way, I'm glad. I never do like it when she and Jon are mad at each other. I'm going to intrude on their conversation—what I was going to discuss with Alanna we had to discuss with Jon anyway, and I'd better do it now before they're at each other again." With a big grin at Neal, George bid Neal goodnight and went to find Alanna.


End file.
